With the disruptive 'structural changes' accelerating the absorption of 'super funds', a valuation of 150 billion is not a dream!

Earlier reports stated that the manufacturer of ChatGPT, OpenAI, is in talks to raise 6.5 billion dollars from investors at a company valuation of 150 billion dollars.

The latest news indicates that this financing is expected to be completed within two weeks, in the form of convertible notes, and its valuation of over a hundred billion dollars will depend on whether OpenAI can disrupt its complex corporate structure and eliminate the investors' profit cap.

Disruptive 'restructuring' of the non-profit structure

OpenAI, established in 2015, is a non-profit research project aimed at creating artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The company has accelerated its commercialization process by selling subscription services such as ChatGPT to consumers and businesses, and its user base has now exceeded 0.2 billion.

Currently, the for-profit division of the company is controlled by the non-profit parent organization, and this structure presents certain challenges in attracting investors.

According to Fortune magazine, co-founder and CEO Sam Altman said at a company-wide staff meeting: "The structure of OpenAI is likely to change next year to make it more like a traditional for-profit enterprise."

OpenAI stated in a declaration: "We remain focused on building artificial intelligence that benefits everyone. As we have said before, we are working with the board of directors to ensure that we can fulfill our mission in the best possible way. Non-profit organizations are at the core of our mission and will continue to exist."

However, according to sources, if the restructuring is unsuccessful, OpenAI will need to renegotiate its company valuation with investors, at which point their shares may convert at a lower price.

In addition, OpenAI is also discussing with lawyers the possibility of transforming its non-profit structure into a for-profit benefit corporation, similar to the models adopted by its competitors, Anthropic and xAI.

The removal of the profit cap remains a challenge.

However, some analysts claim that it is still unclear whether this fundamental corporate structure change can be achieved. Removing the profit cap would bring greater returns to early investors, but it may also raise questions about OpenAI's governance and deviation from its non-profit mission.

At the same time, this change also requires approval from the board of directors of OpenAI's non-profit organization, which is composed of CEO Sam Altman, entrepreneur Bret Taylor, and seven other members.

OpenAI has previously stated that setting a profit cap is meant to "incentivize them to research, develop, and deploy AGI in a balanced way between commerciality, safety, and sustainability, rather than purely maximize profits."

Existing investors are limited by the investment return cap, with any additional returns being redirected to the non-profit organization. In OpenAI's first funding round, the return cap for investors was 100 times the investment amount. The company stated in 2019, "We expect lower multiples in the future rounds."

In recent years, OpenAI has raised over $10 billion in funding, with most of it coming from microsoft. In addition, the company was valued at $80 billion in the February financing, when the investment was led by Thrive Capital.

Super financing, not just the "three giants"

This super-sized financing round also received strong demand from investors, with reports stating, "Given the rapid growth of OpenAI's revenue, financing may be completed within the next two weeks."

Venture capital companies Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and others are expected to participate. Including $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ existing investors. $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ and $Apple (AAPL.US)$ New investors, including Apple, are also planning to join the investment. Sequoia Capital is also in talks to return.

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